"If you even think about going after my sister, you can forget ever having my cooperation." I tried to keep the tremble of anger from my voice. Or maybe it was fear. This was the first time I'd met one of my father's family face-to-face, and while she seemed surprisingly nice, I knew it could all be a mask hiding the demon beneath.

"Your sister need never come into the equation should you take my offer," Vallaena said, sweetening the offer with a dimpled smile. "There is far more at stake here than you realize."

I had plenty more to add to this conversation. But not here. Not now. There were too many people, some of whom I didn't know well enough to trust just yet. Hell, I didn't even know if I could trust Shelton.

"A sister?" Shelton shook his head. "Damn. Talk about keeping secrets. All the research I did on you two and I never caught a whiff."

"I hope you're talking about research before you tried to kidnap us for the bounty," I said.

He narrowed his eyes. "What else would I be talking about?"

Smith tapped on his tablet and grimaced. "I made a timeline a while back. I added Sandy's death to it, but I don't see anything else in my data connecting her death to my parents'."

"Well, it's a start." I sighed and looked at the unconscious figure still resting on the ground. "Maybe someone can clear up one mystery for me. Who's the dude on the floor?"

"He is my Denae, Nyles," Vallaena said, offering another dimple-cheeked smile. "My bodyguard, Ali, was going to evacuate us, but the attack came too soon. Still, he managed to hold them at bay so we could escape."

Great. Another spawn. "Was anyone killed?"

"No." She motioned her head toward the exit. "Ali is guarding upstairs, however, in case of another attack."

"Hard to believe after all that ruckus. The bar looked like a warzone."

"I do not think Kassallandra wished to kill anyone." Vallaena's gaze found my father where he sat glumly on the bed inside the metallic circle on the floor. "But if her hounds could have captured your father, I am certain a little torture would have been in order."

Shelton had the nerve to chuckle.

"I've got some bad news," Smith said as he puzzled over something on his tablet. "I don't think I can remove the death mark. At least not easily. And even if I did remove it, it wouldn't stop the assassin from finishing the job."

I wanted to grit my teeth. Clench my fists. Stomp around and yell. But a sigh was all I could manage. "Are you saying there's nothing we can do to stop my dad from dying?"

"This is Underborn's mark." Smith pushed up his glasses and frowned. "You might be able to buy off a normal Guild hit, but this guy operates differently than the rest."

"Well, yeah. His fee is astronomical," Shelton said with a wry expression.

Smith crinkled his face. "Yes, and no. He, she, or whoever Underborn really is doesn't charge money. His payment is the most precious treasure of the contractor."

"Talk about a vague notion," Elyssa said. "What if it happens to be money? Then you have to give him your life savings?"

Smith nodded. "Something along those lines."

"How do you know so much about him?" I asked.

"When you're digging for answers about murder, the Assassins Guild is a good place to start." Smith sighed and leaned back into the couch. "I found out a lot of things I didn't want to know and came very close to a personal meeting with Underborn himself."

"Dangerous," Ryland said in a low, almost admiring voice.

"Yeah." Smith took a deep breath. "I went to the meeting place, a ramshackle little bar in the Grotto. The summons told me to pick the table in the far end and to take a seat facing the wall. It also told me not to look back."

Shelton snorted. "I'll bet you were about to crap bricks."

"Oh yeah," Smith said, sweat breaking on his forehead. "I don't know how long I sat there expecting a dagger in the back at any minute. After a while, a man with a missing arm sat down to my left. He asked me if I was Adam Nosti. His question surprised the hell out of me because I thought I'd been really clever, keeping my identity secret. Then he told me to look at him, so I did, thinking the whole time it meant a death sentence because I was sure this guy was Underborn, and nobody knows what he really looks like. But instead of seeing a stranger, I recognized the man."

"You knew him?" Shelton asked.

"Not so much knew him as knew of him. It was Aston Beaumont."

Shelton's mouth dropped open. "The guy who won the Arcane Tourney all those years in a row?"

"That's the one. He told me to take a good look at him, and just sat there for a minute like I was supposed to take in every detail. He looked rough. Unshaven, bloodshot eyes, and that damned missing arm. Then he gave me a scrap of flash paper and left."

I didn't have a clue who Aston Beaumont was or where this was going, but it was interesting. "He didn't tell you anything else?" I asked.

Smith shook his head. "I looked at the paper. It said 'Aston gave up his treasure to destroy his better. Should you continue to seek the truth, it will be your sister who loses that which she values most.'"

"What does that mean?"

"Aston was an amazing sorcerer," Shelton said. "One of the best, until he lost his arm in an accident." He held up a hand to keep my next question at bay. "When we practice magic, it's just like playing baseball or anything else-we get used to using a certain hand. Sure, I can switch it up, but unless you're ambidextrous, you'll lose some power and focus."

"So Underborn took his arm, his most valued possession."

"Yeah. That year there was a new kid on the block named Folder Reeves. He was a friggin' prodigy. Everyone expected him to be the next Aston Beaumont. Except he died in an accident two weeks before the Arcane Tourney."

"And Aston lost his magic arm as the price," I said. "I'll bet he didn't win first place."

"Nope. Matter of fact, he came in dead last by a long shot."

Shelton whistled and gave Smith an accusing look. "Man, now there's a story you could've told me over coffee."

"No way in hell was I gonna talk about that encounter to anyone. It took me a year to stop looking over my shoulder every two minutes. I didn't have a clue what Felicia valued most, but I didn't want Underborn to take it."

"You're kidding me, right?" Felicia said in a scornful tone.

"Maybe your boyfriend, Maximus?" Smith said. "On second thought, maybe I should've let Underborn wipe that skid mark off the planet."

Tears pooled in Felicia's eyes. "You're such a stupid bastard!" In one smooth motion, she pushed herself from her sitting position on the floor and stormed into the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

"That son of a bitch, Maximus," Smith said, punching his palm with a fist.

"Men are so daft," Stacey said. "You bloody fool. Your life is her greatest treasure, not that mental vampire, Maximus. You're the last family she has on this Earth and you've wasted years ignoring her so you could solve your parents' murders. And look where it's gotten you."

Smith went white as her words sank in. I felt surprised myself because I sure as heck hadn't seen that one coming.

"You have quite a way with words, Stacey," he said. "You're obviously as intelligent as you are beautiful."

She blushed and blinked her eyes quickly as if trying to figure out why he wasn't yelling at her for her bluntness. "You are too kind, sir." A smile lit her face. "But if you're looking for more advice, I suggest you go apologize to your sister and start things down the right track from here on out."

"Wait, a minute," I said. "What about my dad? What about the death mark? Can't we do anything?"

"I've isolated the frequency for the tracker," Smith said. "The circle won't be necessary to cut it off any longer. But the only way to stop the hit is to appeal to Underborn."

"And offer him my most valued possession?" I cast a worried glance at Elyssa.

Smith got up and tucked his tablet into a wide pocket inside his dark overcoat. "I have no idea. Best I can do is tell you how to initiate contact with him. Then you're on your own. That's just how he works."

"It's not worth it, son," Dad said, his face screwed up in anger and misery. "Block the tracker and I'll put good use to whatever time I have left."

I wanted to argue with him. Tell him we'd find a way. But I couldn't promise anything right now. I was tired as hell and in no shape to do a damned thing. Smith gave me a sympathetic look as he went into the bedroom to talk to his sister. Stacey looked from my father to me, her eyes glistening. Vallaena looked troubled, but I didn't think for a moment she'd shed a tear for my dad.

"I must go for now," my aunt said, as Nyles staggered to his feet. He looked like a truck had run him over. Considering how much punch those hellhounds were packing, that probably wasn't far off the mark. "We have a great deal to discuss, Justin." She came closer despite Elyssa's nasty glare and lowered her voice. "I need a decision in one week. Otherwise, I will be forced to pursue other options."

"Turn myself over to you or you'll go after my sister? Is that it?"

"I am not alone on this. There are...other parties involved who desire your cooperation, but above all, your safety. I hope you see my plan is for the greater good."

"As in your good," Elyssa hissed. "You want to ensure you stay in power."

Vallaena raised a blonde eyebrow. "I make no secret of my desire to keep the status quo, Templaras. Please, consider the offer."

"I'm not accepting anything right now," I said, giving her my most heartfelt glare. "But we need to discuss these 'others', and I want to see the bigger picture. There's a lot going on that you're not saying."

Her dimples showed again. "Of course." She straightened and motioned Nyles toward the exit. "I hope to hear from you soon, nephew."

"You heading out, Blondie?" Shelton said, joy practically dancing in his eyes, probably because part of the circus was leaving his house.

"I am."

He headed out the door, giving her a curt motion to follow him. She gave me one last gaze, as if trying to divine what choice I would make before following the sorcerer out.

Anxiety hammered my heart into a solid heavy lump in my chest the moment she was out of sight. I wanted to throw up and kill the person responsible for this mess, and not necessarily in that order. Elyssa pressed a hand to my cheek and kissed me on the lips.

"We're not going to let this happen," she said in low tones. "We'll find Underborn and stop him. I promise you, we will stop this." Her hand tightened on mine. "And I'm going to shove Vallaena's threats back down her demon-infested pie-hole."

The burn of tears hit the backs of my eyes and I took a deep breath to ward them off. Now was not the time to get sentimental and turn into a pansy in front of everyone.

Meghan came to my cot and gave Elyssa a cup of something. "Justin, you need to sleep. This will help you."

Much as I wanted to argue and stay awake to figure out what to do next, I realized she was right. Until I regained my strength, I was useless to everyone. I nodded as Elyssa gave me a querying look. "Don't let me sleep too long," I said.

"I'll be right beside you, hot stuff." She winked. "Maybe I'll even break me off a piece while you're out of it."

"You did not just say that," I said, a smile overcoming the melancholy tug on my facial muscles.

She smiled and leaned down until I felt her warm breath on my ear. "I think I just did." Her teeth nipped my earlobe.

A shiver of pleasure went through my body and almost made me forget the room was full of other people. Not that I could lift a hand to make good on the friskiness. "You'd better watch out once I'm feeling better."

"Not only will I be watching out, I'll be looking forward to it." Her full lipped smile made me want her so badly right then; I wished I could sweep her off her feet and kick everyone out of the place. Instead, I leaned forward and sipped the brew Meghan had prepared until the sweet-tasting mixture was gone.

Elyssa curled up next to me, our faces just inches apart, and squeezed me. She backed off, her eyes wide. "You might be weak, but something is still working."

I tried to smile but sleep dragged me down and away.

Chapter 22.

I woke up alone and in the dark. Panic took me full in the chest and I jerked off the cot, flailing and hitting something soft with my knee. I went down face-first and landed on a bed. An empty bed, from the feel of it. I felt for the other side and touched something. A pillow, maybe? I moved my hand over it and realized it wasn't large enough to be a pillow. It felt almost like skin except it wasn't warm as it should be. Then I found a knee and recoiled in horror. Had they dropped a dead body in the bedroom with me?

I stumbled back away and felt the edges of the bed, frantically making my way around it and to the light switch while my night vision strobed off and on like a bad florescent light. I flicked the light on. Felicia's still form lay there, her eyelids fluttering as the light hit them. She pushed herself up on one elbow and gazed at me groggily.

"You're awake?" she asked.

I looked down at myself. "Uh, looks that way. Why am I in here?"

"They figured it was too noisy out there. I came in to get some shuteye myself since Shelton won't let anyone sleep in his bedroom."

"Vampires need to sleep?"

"Duh. Remember when you broke into our home? All the cots and beds?"

As if I could forget anything about that awful night. "Guess I ruined your game of Dance Revolution, huh?"

"Dance Central, actually."

I shrugged. "Didn't mean to."

She pushed her petite body into a sitting position, the movement quick and graceful. "Supposedly, older vampires don't need much sleep and normal sunlight doesn't hurt their skin either." Her eyes softened and she looked down. "Thank you, by the way."

"For what?"

"You saved me from a freaking hellhound, that's what! I guess it must have knocked me out." She looked up. "How did you stop it from killing me?"

I thought about it and still had no idea. "I told it to stop. I guess all my yelling and screaming confused it."

She laughed. "Maybe I should've screamed instead of punching it in the nose."

I couldn't keep a smile off my face at the memory. "I should thank you for saving me. That was crazy brave smacking that monster in the schnauzer."

Felicia reached over and took my hand in hers. I realized her hand wasn't warm as it should be, but it wasn't cold either. It felt soft and normal to me, though I wasn't sure why she'd taken my hand.

"I'm sorry, Justin." A tear glistened in one eye before making a slow journey down her pale cheek and past her crimson lips. "I'm a horrible person for letting those vamplings almost kill you and your girlfriend and for helping to kidnap your father. I just thought spawn were these really evil creatures, you know? Maximus told us all these terrible stories about your kind, so I thought we were doing something good."